The New Millennium
by kkcaleb13
Summary: Three passionate duelists arrive in New Domino city in preparations for the upcoming World Racing Grand Prix! But all is not well in New Domino city! Spirits and gangsters and turbo duels, oh my! (A original running series set after after the end of 5D's.)
1. A Chaotic Arrival!

PART 1: A CHAOTIC ARRIVAL

Koto raced down the track as fast as he could, pushing his duel runner to go even faster as he approached the corner. He remembered all the crashes, the broken bones, and the pain that he'd gone through as he kicked out his heel and the runner started to drift. For a ten seconds, sparks flew and smoke bellowed out from under his heel, the smoke clearing as he finally lifted his leg and continued his run down the straightaway. Adrenaline pumping as he felt the heat on his right foot, Koto revved the engine and prepared for the second turn. The runner wobbled and groaned, but another ten seconds of glory propelled him back onto the straightaway and through the finish line.

Once he crossed it, he stopped his runner and took off his helmet to let his white locks get some air. As the sweat poured off him, a blonde girl in a blue racing suit rushed up to meet him, "That was amazing, Koto! You did it! With moves like that, we can pretty much guarantee that we'll have the first move!"

"That is, if we want to start on the first turn." Came a more level-headed reply from a man with dark hair, "It's not something we should be using all the time, even if we can, it's dangerous and I don't want our first match in the tournament to end in disaster."

Koto nodded, "Derek is right. This will be a powerful tool, but it's still just one tool. Besides, Chione, you're still our opener, and you tend to do better when you're going second."

Chione shrugged, "Can't argue there. But seriously, Derek, how are you not pumped?! The World Racing Grand Prix is coming up soon and we've got a shot of going all the way to the top!"

"If we win the qualifiers." Derek reminded, "But those are still a week away. We can't afford to get ahead of ourselves and risk injury in practice."

"Right again, Derek." Koto agreed, "We should rest up this week. Non-stop training is only going to let the competition get a chance to glimpse what we're bringing to the table. We've got our roles down pat and all that's left to do is wait for the time to come."

Chione frowned, "I hate it when you two get all logical… how am I supposed to not duel for a whole week?!"

"Nobody said you couldn't duel. Just don't go all out, okay?"

"But going all out is the best part…"

Derek patted her shoulder, "Don't worry, soon you'll be able to duel everybody in sight with everything you've got."

"They won't know what hit them!" Koto put his hand between his companions, "Team New Millennium, on 3!"

They put their hand on his and chanted together.

"1, 2, 3, Team New Millennium!"

As they all put away their duel runners and started heading back to the hotel, Chione couldn't help asking, "Why are we called Team New Millennium again?"

"Because it's easy to remember and therefore, good for marketing." Derek asserted.

"Also because we're in the second age of dueling, the Synchro age! So to be the team to define it is the ultimate mark of master duelists!"

"Right!" Chione agreed, "I remembered, I was just checking to see if you remembered!"

The trio spent the rest of the trip recalling their first meeting. The young and shy Koto being approached by the cool and confident Derek. Back in those young school days, it was Derek who led everyone around him through sheer force of will and overwhelming intellect. That was, everybody except for Chione, who wasn't afraid to stand up for a little nerdy kid too nervous to talk. Little did they know that he would turn out to be a dueling maniac, capable of beating both of them as individuels and as a team. Derek's pride cast aside, he recognized that he'd been outclassed and became determined to learn more about the boy with blue eyes and white hair. Chione, social butterfly she always was, brought them together as friends and they'd been inseparable ever since. Who would have though the three would become duel academy aces together?

* * *

They each went to their rooms and started planning out their weeks.

Derek convinced himself that he would manage to keep Chione from dragging him all over New Domino city long enough to get some reading done.

Chione was busy planning a route that would allow them to visit every store in New Domino city in a single run so that she could make a mad dash every day until the tournament started.

Koto… Koto was looking through his deck with a frown on his face. There was nothing wrong with his cards, they were exactly as he'd left them, but even then, they just felt wrong in his hands. Something was missing. Something that he couldn't put his finger on. Then his phone rang and he answered it immediately, "Hello?"

"I hear you're going to be entering the World Racing Grand Prix."

Koto froze, it had been a long time since he'd heard his father's voice, "That's right."

"Why?"

"…" Koto's nose twitched in anger as he grit his teeth, "Because mom would have wanted me to do what I love."

Koto hung up and threw his phone across the room. There weren't many people in the world that could get under his skin, and so, he'd never really learned how to express anger. He would either let it stew or explode into a fit of rage, and his father had riled him up far too much for him to just let it stew. When his phone started ringing again, he snatched it up off the floor and shouted into it, "What?!"

"You okay, Koto?"

The calming, friendly voice of the man on the other end of the line helped Koto get a grip on himself, "S-Sorry, uncle Moki. Dad just called…"

Moki sighed, "Don't let him bother you, Koto. He's never been good with people or expressing himself. He's just surprised that you enter the Grand Prix. I don't think the idea of you dueling ever really sat right with him, but he's just being stubborn. I'm going to be watching the Grand Prix on T.V. and you can bet your butt I'm going to be cheering for you."

"Thanks, uncle Moki, that means a lot to me."

"What, did you think I wouldn't want to see my nephew wipe the floor with a bunch of world-class chumps?" Moki grinned, "Don't you worry about your dad, I'll talk to him. You just focus on showing him that you earned the right to be a duelist."

"… Will do!"

"Then you get some rest and enjoy your time in New Domino city! I went ahead and sent you an allowance in case you need emergency funds while you're in town. Just make sure if you buy new cards that you playtest them before you use them in an official match!"

"I will, uncle Moki, you have a good night."

"You, too, Koto."

Koto hung up the phone and set it down on the counter, beside a picture of his mother. The woman in the picture looked like a saint in a sundress, the sunlight creating a comforting aura around her as she smiled at the camera, her white hair fluttering in the breeze as her blue eyes peeked out from underneath her straw hat. Koto picked up the picture and looked at it, "… I'll make you proud, mom, just like I always promised I would."

Feeling emotionally and physically exhausted, Koto passed out as soon as he hit the pillow.

* * *

When he woke to see that he was sitting at the bottom of a lake, Koto felt at peace. He'd had this dream many times before, but it never failed to lift his heart. As he started to walk the lakebed, there was something about the water that made him feel refreshed. Above him were clear skies, easily visible through the crystal-clear water. He knew he'd sleep well.

Then he saw something fly through the sky.

It was too quick to make out, but the flash of a black shadow overhead was enough to shake Koto, "That's new…"

For the first time, Koto wandered to the edge of the lake and poked his head out, seeing a vast desert laying out before him in all directions. Before he could take it all in, the sky darkened, clouds filling the sky as winds whipped the sand into his eyes and knocking him backwards into the lake. Water filled his mouth, leaving him desperately clawing out of the pool and onto the… steel?

Pulling himself to his feet as he spat out the water, Koto found himself standing atop a blimp and looking down to see a city a miles beneath the metal platform he was standing on. Another shadow whizzed by, along with another violent gust of wind that sent Koto hurdling through the air and plummeting towards the earth. Fear gripped him as he start to fall, his heart pounding as he closed his eyes and prayed for the dream to be over.

"Koto."

Koto's eyes snapped open and he found himself back underwater. Floating before him was a woman with long white hair and blue eyes. Koto couldn't believe it, "M-Mom…?"

"Koto, listen to me, you are in danger." The woman warned, "There are people who seek to harm you in the days to come. They will stop at nothing until they bring about your demise. You can save yourself, but in order to do so, you must seek out your birthright. For now, I can only give you this."

The woman held out her hand and light enveloped it, bending and transforming into a card. Koto took the card and read it, "… Maiden with Eyes of Blue?"

"When you are lost and cannot find you way, hold this card to your heart, and the spirits will guide you."

"W-Wait!"

The light from the card filled Koto's eyes, until he shook himself upright in his bed, his right hand outstretched with card in hand, "Mom!"

Covered in a cold sweat, Koto looked down at his hand to see The Maiden with Eyes of Blue within his hand. A spellcaster tuner monster with zero attack and defense points. Slowly rising up out of his bed, Koto took his deck and placed the card on the top. There were no fireworks or flashy displays, but Koto could feel it, his deck was one step closer to being complete.

* * *

The ride to New Domino city was brief, but quiet. Chione had noticed that Koto was being quieter than usual but she was too nervous to ask him what was wrong. Derek had no such compunctions, "Koto, you're staring off into space like your brain is melting. Talk to us."

Koto frowned, "My dad called yesterday."

"What did he say?"

"He asked if I was participating in the Grand Prix and I said yes."

"What else?"

"He asked me why I was in it."

"I see." Derek flicked Koto's forehead, "Stop being dramatic. I know your father can be difficult, but this isn't about him. It's about you, me, and Chione. We're the ones who worked hard to earn a spot in the tournament preliminaries, not him. So whatever issues he has about it, he can deal with them himself. In the meantime, me and Chione need our fearless leader to take us all the way to the top."

Koto couldn't help but smile as he looked at his friends, "You're right, Derek, as usual."

"Good." Derek smiled as he leaned back and opened his book.

Chione gasped as she looked at her phone, "They have a duel academy in New Domino city?!"

"You didn't know that?"

"If I knew there was a duel academy, do you think I'd be wasting my time planning shopping routes?! Koto, we have to go! There'll be so many duelists there!"

Koto looked to Derek, who sighed, "If it means I don't have to run around town like a maniac carrying ten tons of shopping bags, I'm fine with it."

"Chauffeur, take us to the dueling academy!"

* * *

One short trip later, the trio stood before a massive building that seemed like a smaller version of the academy they had once competed in.

"Let's find the duel hall!" Chione rushed off, quickly following the signs to find a room full of dueling courts, "Jackpot! Who wants to duel?!"

"Excuse me, madam, but can I help you?" The question came from a tall man with short, brown hair.

"You sure can! Tell me what I have to do to get a duel around here!"

The man seemed unamused, "Ma'am, unless you are a duel academy student, faculty member, or graduate, this room is private dueling ground."

Chione produced her student ID, "Duel student graduate Chione Moto, ready to duel, sir!"

"Oh my goodness… this is the king of games's daughter! Relax, man, get a hold of yourself! It's not like you're insulting Yugi Moto himself, just be polite, cordial, and don't do anything else stupid!" The man took the ID and looked it over to find that all was as the girl claimed, "My apologies. Perhaps I could be your opponent? My students are currently running drills, so this could be a good learning experience for them."

"Sounds like fun! Thank you, mister…?"

"Doctor, actually, Dr. Clockwork."

Chione raised her duel disk and grabbed her ground deck off her belt, "Then it's time to duel, Dr. Clockwork!"

The room started to buzz with whispers as the students all gathered towards the duel field that they were using. Koto and Derek took up seats in the bleachers, confidant that whatever ruckus they'd just walked in on was the doing of their teammate. Naturally, they took up seats where they could get a clear line of sight to the action.

* * *

LP: CLOCK: 4000 - CHIONE: 4000

CARDS IN HAND: 5 - 5

* * *

Dr. Clockwork took a bow, "Ladies first, Ms. Moto."

"Don't mind if I do!" Chione drew a card, "I'll start by playing Chaos End Master (1500/1000) in attack mode! Your turn!"

"Hm." Derek raised an eyebrow, "Conserving card advantage in the opening turn, that's not like Chione."

"If she's holding what I think she is, then it's exactly what Chione would do." Koto countered.

"My turn!" Dr. Clockwork, "Now, someone tell me what kind of card I would have to worry about if I attacked now?"

The students looked at each other and murmured amongst themselves for a bit. Derek finally broke the silence, "A quick-spell!"

Dr. Clockwork turned and pointed at Derek, "Young man, I appreciate your enthusiasm, but please refrain from answering further questions! This is good practice for my students! In any case, he's right, which means that if I want a better chance at attacking safely, I should nullify spells!"

"Oh… yeah, I guess that's the right answer." Chione thought to herself.

"First, I'll play the field spell Geartown! And since Geartown allows us both to summon Ancient Gear monsters with one less tribute, I can summon Ancient Gear Engineer to the field in attack mode (1500/1500)!"

"Ancient Gear Engineer?!" A student cried, "You can't use spell or trap cards when that monster attacks!"

"Yes, however, it seems I need to increase the attack points of my Engineer, so I'll play the equip spell Ancient Gear Tank, which will increase my Engineer's attack points up to 2100! Now that it's spell-proof and stronger, go, Ancient Gear Engineer, crush Chaos End Master!"

"That's just what I was hoping for!" Chione pulled a card out of her hand, "I activate the effect of Honest! You see, when one of my LIGHT attribute creatures is battling, I can discard Honest from my hand to increase that monster's attack points by the attack points of the monster it's battling until the end of the turn, which means that Chaos End Master is now the stronger monster (3600/1000)!"

* * *

LP: CLOCK: 2500 - CHIONE: 4000

CARDS IN HAND: 3 - 4

* * *

As Ancient Gear Engineer was blasted to pieces, Dr. Clockwork smiled, "Using an effect monster from your hand? That's some critical thinking, there, but since you sent Ancient Gear Tank to the grave with my engineer, you'll take 600 points of damage!"

* * *

LP: CLOCK: 2500 - CHIONE: 3400

CARDS IN HAND: 3 - 4

* * *

Chione smirked, "You're not the only one with an effect! You see, when Chaos-End Master defeats a monster in battle, I get to summon a level 5 or higher monster from my deck, so long as that monster has 1600 attack points or less! And the monster I choose to summon is the level 5 Berfomet (1400/1800)!"

"How much do you want to bet Chione doesn't realize she has card advantage yet?" Koto asked.

"I don't bet against the house." Derek snarked.

Dr. Clockwork smirked, "I'll play one card facedown and end my turn."

* * *

LP: CLOCK: 2500 - CHIONE: 3400

CARDS IN HAND: 2 - 5

* * *

"My move!" Chione drew, "Wait… I totally have the card advantage here! Time to start swinging!"

"She's gonna synchro summon." Koto claimed.

"Does she ever not, given the chance?" Derek countered.

"Now, I'll tune my level 3 Chaos-End Master with my level 5 Berfomet! Shrouded in darkness, the roaring voice that emerges from the void, go, Dark End Dragon (2600/2100)!"

"I activate the trap card Bottomless Trap Hole!" Dr. Clockwork shouted, "With this, your Dark End Dragon is removed from play!"

"Ah, crud." Chione thought to herself, "… If I had just attacked, I would have won… now, I have no monsters in hand and only one trap card… well, here goes nothing!"

Koto's smirk grew, "She doesn't have any other monsters in hand."

"You're kidding." Derek begged.

"I'll throw down one facedown and end my turn!" Chione shouted.

* * *

LP: CLOCK: 2500 - CHIONE: 3400

CARDS IN HAND: 3 - 4

* * *

"Called it."

"For the love of…"

"Alright, this is my chance!" Dr. Clockwork thought to himself as he drew his card, "Excellent! Now, class, what card would be best to eliminate that facedown card?"

"Mystical Space Typhoon!" The class chimed in unison.

"Precisely, so that's what I'll use to destroy that facedown!"

Chione discarded the trap card.

"Was that Lost Wind?" Derek asked.

"She bet it all on Lost Wind." Koto confirmed, "This ought to be interesting."

Dr. Clockwork smirked, "Next, I'll activate the spell card Ancient Gear Fusion! Now, since I'm using the Ancient Gear Golem in my hand as fusion material, I can use card from my deck as material to perform a fusion summon! So by sending the Ancient Gear Golem in my hand and two Ancient Gear Golems from my deck to the grave, I can fusion summon Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem (4400/3400)!"

Koto began laughing, "She's going to pull this off!"

Derek began massaging his temples, "This shouldn't be working…"

Chione smiled, "Since you special summoned a monster from your extra deck, I get to use the effects of Lost Wind! While Lost Wind is in the graveyard, I can set it back on my field facedown, but I have to remove it from the game once it leaves the field!"

"No matter!" Dr. Clockwork smirked, "When Ancient Gear Golem attacks, you can't activate spell or trap cards until after the damage step is resolved!"

"That's why I'm activating it now! You see, Lost Wind doesn't negate attacks, it just makes them weaker!"

"What?! What happened to my Ultimate Gear Golem (2200/3400)?!"

"Lost Wind allows me to half the attack points of one monster that has been special summoned, and I chose Ultimate Gear Golem!"

"Your field is still wide open for attack! Go, Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem, Ultimate Mechanized Melee!"

* * *

LP: CLOCK: 2500 - CHIONE: 1200

CARDS IN HAND: 0 - 4

* * *

"Maybe she's planning a comeback with the cards in her hand!" One of the student's suggested.

"Yeah, she's got a brilliant strategy, just wait and see!" Another declared.

"Go, Princess of Games! You can do it!" A third shouted.

"C'mon, top deck…" Chione thought to herself, "Alright, I can work with this!"

* * *

LP: CLOCK: 2500 - CHIONE: 1200

CARDS IN HAND: 0 - 5

* * *

"I activate the spell card Card Destruction!" Chione shouted, "So now I can discard my hand and draw as many cards as I discarded!"

* * *

LP: CLOCK: 2500 - CHIONE: 1200

CARDS IN HAND: 0 - 4

* * *

"Now, I activate the spell Soul Release, so I can remove five cards from my graveyard!"

Koto leaned forward, "Um… aren't most of the cards in her deck reliant on having cards in the grave?"

Derek blinked, "She's about to win if she has the card I think she does. I don't know if I'm impressed or frustrated that she managed top deck her way to victory."

"Next, I'll activate a second Soul Release to remove four more cards from my graveyard! Then, I'll set one card face-down! Your move!"

"…Why remove cards from the game? Unless…" Dr. Clockwork shook his head, "My turn!"

* * *

LP: CLOCK: 2500 - CHIONE: 1200

CARDS IN HAND: 1 - 1

* * *

"Sorry, but this duel is over! Go, Different Dimension Dynamite!"

Koto started laughing, "Why didn't I think of that card?"

"Because she hasn't used that card since the day she put it in her deck four months ago." Derek said through clenched teeth, "So of course, the one time that she needs it in order to win, she's naturally in a situation to capitalize on it and draws exactly what she needs to win with it."

"Heart of the cards strikes again!" Chione pointed forward, "So now, you take 300 points of damage for each card I've removed from play, and counting the 8 I just removed plus my Dark End Dragon, that adds up to a whopping 2700 points!"

* * *

LP: CLOCK: 0000 - CHIONE: 1200

CARDS IN HAND: 1 - 1

RESULTS: LOSS - WIN

* * *

The students erupted in cheers as the blast from Different Dimension Dynamite echoed, "Way to go! We love you, princess of games! You did it!"

Dr. Clockwork nodded approvingly, "An unorthodox strategy, but I suppose that's what makes it effective. Most people these days are building their decks around capitalizing on synchro monsters, but by utilizing cards removed from play, you can take advantage of cards no matter where they are. Top marks, Ms. Moto."

Chione grinned, "You were a great opponent Dr. Clockwork! That was a blast!"

Koto was happy to see Chione having fun dueling, their intense training regime had been putting everybody under a lot of stress. These happy thoughts quickly vanished as Koto felt a card in his deck start to hum. Pulling the Maiden, he glanced down at it just long enough for a bolt of white lightning to fill his peripheral vision. Looking up to the exit opposite where he was sitting, he could see clear blue skies, not a cloud in sight.

Koto got up, "I need to go, I'll be back."

"…" Derek watched his partner in crime dash away, "Something's up with Koto. He's been quiet ever since we got to New Domino. Maybe I should call his uncle to check in…"

END OF PART 1

* * *

NOTE FROM AUTHOR:

Hello, I hope you're enjoying this series!

I've written some stuff in the past, but I think a lot of it was just me sitting down, cooking up head cannon and original characters, and writing down whatever I felt like, but I want this to be different. I've planned out the overall plot and I've got a couple character arks planned out already. The hardest part of writing is discipline, so if these wind up being a bit shorter than my usual stuff, sorry, I'm trying to write more consistently.

Recently, I've been working hard to become a better writer, so I've been doing lots of exercises and research, but not really getting any feedback, so I though I should do something that people can enjoy (and also penance for not finishing certain stories or just not doing stuff in general).

Yugioh is a series I've enjoyed a lot, so I figured that I'd do something for it. This was originally going to be a crossover between the first three series, but the more I tried to work with the original Duel Monsters, GX, and 5D's cast, the more I found everything to be entirely too convoluted to make sense.

So instead, I decided to try to bring the spirit of the series into an original story involving new characters with relations to the previous ones and strong ties to the Duel Monsters game that ties the series together as a whole. I always liked the Duel Monster spirit side of the show and I was always disappointed that they never incorporated it more, so I plan to do that here some.

Ironically, the hardest part of writing this has been trying to keep the dueling scenes easy to follow. I've heard people complain about the duels being really simple and repeated over and over again in the show, but I tried to read some other fics to see how hard it was to follow a duel in the written format. If things aren't repeatedly clarified, it's like trying to build a house using your elbows (and this is coming from someone who played Yugioh for over 10 years).

So, most of the duels you read here are going to be in the same style as the anime, because it turns out it's much easier to follow that way!

But yeah, please feel free to let me know if I've made any mistakes anywhere or if you have any suggestions for me!

Like I said, I'm trying to be a better writer, so don't feel the need to hold back if I mess up!

In any case, I hope you enjoyed and you have a wonderful day!

(P.S.: Part 2 should be up by next Saturday at the absolute latest!)


	2. A Light-Hearted Dual!

PART 2: A LIGHT-HEARTED MATCH

Koto felt like a madman following flashes of white lightning around the New Domino city dual academy.

Once he reached the roof of the building, he found himself staring down a group of three students wearing Slifer Red uniforms. Koto raised his eyebrow, "What are you three doing up here? Shouldn't you be in class?"

The tallest of the three, a scrawny dark-haired boy with glasses, held his hands up defensively, "This is a misunderstanding, we're supposed to be up here, you see!"

The shortest of the three, a mean-looking buff boy with beach blond hair, nodded his head, "Yeah, yeah! We're working on deck construction!"

The one of middling height, a pretty boy with curly brown hair, nodded, "Although, the fact we were assigned detention does make it easier to focus on this task."

"What did you get detention for?" Koto inquired.

The three looked at each other, then shrugged, "We were passing notes in class…"

"Passing notes?"

"We wanted to ask some girls out, but we have low self-esteem issues!" The short one blurted.

"P-Please don't say it so loud…" The tall one begged.

"Maybe you two do, but I personally find burdening others with my magnificence to be a mentally taxing affair. The guilt can be unbearable at times."

Koto couldn't help but smile, "You know what really impresses girls?"

"What?!" All three asked together.

"Dualing skills."

The trio dramatically fell flat on their faces before shouting, "We're all good dualists, that's not the problem! The problem is that we're not good at anything else!"

"Is that so?"

"Yes!"

"Have you tried dualing a girls you like?"

"…" The trio looked at him like he was insane.

Koto shook his head, "The point isn't the dualing, it's putting yourself at a point of confidence. Once you feel confident, you just have to be honest with her and if it's meant to be, things will work out. If it doesn't work out, then you finish out the dual like all good dualists should and walk away respectfully."

"But what if she doesn't like me?"

"If she doesn't like you, then you shouldn't try to date her! If someone doesn't like you for who you are, that's their loss! Be with someone who likes you for you!" Koto smiled to himself, "_That's good advice… I think. Maybe things will turn out better for these guys than high school did for me._"

The trio looked at each other, then the pretty one stood up with fire in his eyes, "I don't know about you gentlemen, but I, Nathen Bartholomew Marcus, am off! No more living in shame and fear! I'm going to do it!"

As Nathen rushed down the stairs, the remaining Slifer reds looked at each other in horror. Koto paused, then put two and two together, "He's got a crush on the best dualist in the school, doesn't he?"

They nodded in silence.

"Anything else that's horribly wrong with what he's about to do?"

The tall one swallowed, "She's in lecture hall right now taking a test."

The short one was sweating bullets, "And I'm pretty sure she's a hardcore sadist… Nathen doesn't stand a chance against her…"

Koto sighed, "What kind of deck does he play?"

"Lightsworn…" The duo said in a hesitant unison.

Koto suddenly understood their horror, "I'll handle this."

"_What kind of dual academy student uses Lightsworn cards?!_" Koto thought as he rushed after Nathen, "_Unless he's got friends that are willing to fork over pro-circuit cards, he's in for a bad time…_"

"Janice Pollux, I challenge you to a dual!"

"_Crap, I'm too late…_" Koto rounded the corner to a large lecture hall full of students in all different color uniforms, packed nearly to the brim, aside from the pulpit, where a very annoyed girl with dark purple hair holding a clicker.

The girl cleared her throat, "Since we have such a willing audience member, I'd now like to present evidence on my essay as to the importance of potential card advantage."

Koto grabbed Nathen's shoulder, "Before you do this, let me see your deck."

"Of course." Nathen passed his cards over to Koto.

The color in Koto's face ran in terror as he started looking through the deck. Saying that Nathen had a Lightsworn deck was a grievous overstatement at best. There were only 6 Lightsworn monsters in the deck, none of the Lightsworn support spells or traps, and 2 monsters that could use effects from the grave. The rest of the cards were semi-decent, but nothing that could capitalize on Lightsworn's strengths or cover their one, crippling flaw. Koto picked up his phone and called Derek.

Derek picked up his phone, "Where did you go?"

"Main lecture hall. Please tell me you have some of the Lightsworn cards we won with you."

"… I didn't have enough room in the briefcase to pack all of them, why?"

"But you have some?"

"I have three. Why?"

"Please bring them to the lecture hall. I'll owe you a big favor."

"Will you tell me why you're acting so strange? Your uncle is worried about you."

"You called my uncle?! Who calls someone's uncle?!" Koto sighed, "Fine, but after! Get here ASAP!"

"On my way."

Koto hung up the phone and pulled Nathen aside, "Please give us a moment."

"What's wrong?" Nathen wondered out loud.

"Nathen… how familiar are you with Lightsworn cards that you don't have yet?"

"… There are other Lightsworn cards?"

"_Dear lord, what have I done?_" Koto cleared his voice, "Yes, there are. A friend of mine is going to bring a few by for you to use in this dual."

Nathen frowned, "Do they have the dual spirits in them?"

"What?"

Nathen grabbed Ryko, Lightsworn Warrior from his deck and held it up for Koto to see, "Say hello, Ryko!"

Koto watched as the wolf barked to him, then blinked twice, "…How did you do that?"

Nathen's eyes went wide, "You can see them, too?! I thought I was the only one!"

"You asked for these?" Derek walked through the door, holding two cards in his hand.

Nathen held his hand out, "They're for me."

"Here. Koto, are you alright? You look like death."

Koto tried to wrap his mind around what all was going on around him.

Nathen pulled the cards close to his mouth and whispered to them loudly enough that Koto and Derek could hear him, "Hey, I'm trying to win a dual for love, could you two help me out?"

Long, awkward silence.

Nathen and Koto heard, "We pledge ourselves to your noble cause."

Nathen slid the cards into his deck, "Splendid! Prepare yourself, Janice!"

Janice stepped off the pulpit as it sunk into the floor to reveal a dual pit, "Now, as I was saying, many dualists overlook the importance of potential card advantage, or in other words, the possible cards they can draw from their deck. Normally, I would provide a scripted dual to showcase this, but my opponent's deck is built around sending his own cards to the graveyard, so he'll be doing most of the work for me."

"Always happy to be a helping hand!" Nathen declared as he climbed down into the dualing pit, shoving his deck into his dual disk to get it shuffled and smiling.

Janice put her cards into her own dual disk to shuffle her cards, "Since you challenged me, it's only fair that I go first."

* * *

LP: JANICE: 4000 - NATHEN: 4000

CARDS IN HAND: 6 - 5

CARDS IN DECK: 35 - 37

* * *

Janice pulled three cards from her hand, "I'll lay one monster facedown in defense mode and two cards facedown. Your move!"

"A safe opening." Derek observed, "She seems like the scholarly type."

"Remind you of anyone?" Koto raised an eyebrow.

"If this girl is anything like me when I was in high school, I pity her."

* * *

LP: JANICE: 4000 - NATHEN: 4000

CARDS IN HAND: 3 - 6

CARDS IN DECK: 34 - 36

* * *

"My move!" Nathen looked at his cards, "I summon Jain, Lighsworn Paladin(1800/1200) in attack mode! And I'll attack your facedown with Jain! Due to Jain's special ability, she gains 300 attack points during the damage step!"

The facedown card flipped up to reveal a Gemini Soldier (500/300), which Jain cut to pieces.

"I activate the trap card Over Limit!" Janice declared, "Now, by paying 500 life points, both of us can summon as many normal monsters from the grave with 1000 attack points or less that were destroyed this turn in battle! And since Gemini Soldier was sent to the grave, it returns!"

* * *

LP: JANICE: 3500 - NATHEN: 4000

CARDS IN HAND: 3 - 5

CARDS IN DECK: 34 - 36

* * *

_"Because it's a Gemini monster, she can treat it like a Normal monster whenever it's in the grade. There's a lot of good support cards that revolve around Normal monsters._" Derek thought to himself, "_But that's a lot of options to consider, since she has the option of using her Normal summon to summon either a new monster or a monster that's already on the field. She must constantly run dual scenarios in a simulator to have any confidence that she's making the right decision. I wonder how many support cards she has for normal monsters and how many support cards she has for Gemini monsters. Balancing out something like that would require painstaking testing…_"

"_Derek's thinking pretty hard for someone not dualing._" Koto glanced back at Janice, "_… But I have to admit, potential card advantage is a pretty complicated subject for a high schooler to tackle. It's not the implications of both dualists stacking their deck before the match starts, but we can't all be Derek._"

Nathen grabbed a card, "I'll play one facedown and end my turn. Now, since I have Jain on my field, I have to send two cards from the deck to the grave."

"My move!" Janice drew her card.

* * *

LP: JANICE: 3500 - NATHEN: 4000

CARDS IN HAND: 4 - 4

CARDS IN DECK: 32 - 34

* * *

"First, I'll summon Energy Braver(1700/1200) in attack mode! Now, since Energy Braver is on the field, all gemini monsters on the field are treated as effect monsters and cannot be destroyed by card effects! Now go, Gemini Soldier, attack Jain, Lightsworn Paladin!"

* * *

LP: JANICE: 2200 - NATHEN: 4000

CARDS IN HAND: 3 - 4

CARDS IN DECK: 32 - 34

* * *

"Huh?" Nathen was confused, "Why isn't your Gemini Soldier destroyed?"

"His special ability prevents him from being destroyed in battle the first time he would be destroyed each turn, but that's not all! Since Gemini Soldier battled, I can special summon one level 4 or lower monster from my deck, and I choose Dark Valkyria(1800/1050)!"

"Taking damage to ensure the destruction of an opponent's monster and create an opportunity to deal massive damage without losing a single monster. Well played." Derek observed.

"And now, since Energy Braver is on the field, I can activate Dark Valkyria's special ability! Dark Valkyria gains a spell counter and 300 attack points as long as he has that counter. However, by removing that spell counter, I can use Valkyria's special ability to destroy one monster, and the monster I'm choosing is Jain, Lightsworn Paladin! And now that the field is clear, go, Dark Valkyria, attack him directly!"

* * *

LP: JANICE: 2200 - NATHEN: 2200

CARDS IN HAND: 3 - 4

CARDS IN DECK: 32 - 34

* * *

"Now go, Energy Braver, attack him again!"

* * *

LP: JANICE: 2200 - NATHEN: 0500

CARDS IN HAND: 3 - 4

CARDS IN DECK: 32 - 34

* * *

"You ready to give up yet?"

As the smoke cleared, Nathen's wicked grin glimmered, "I won't give up! I activate the trap card Crippling Blow!"

"What?!" Janice started to panic, "But that's basically suicide, why is he so confident?!"

Koto blinked, "Good god… he bet it all on a single trap card. Remind you of anyone?"

"This girl has my empathy." Derek sighed heavily, "She's trembling. I don't even think she knows what's coming, but I can see the fear in her eyes. She's completely bewildered, terrified to see someone do something so reckless. This was her moment to prove herself in front of everybody, and she's losing control of it all.

"Thanks to Crippling blow, since both of us have taken at least 1000 points of damage, we both send cards from our deck to our grave equal to the amount of damage we've both taken divided by 100 and neither of us can lose the dual due to an inability to draw a card until the end of my next turn!" Nathen explained.

* * *

LP: JANICE: 2200 - NATHEN: 0500

CARDS IN HAND: 3 - 4

CARDS IN DECK: 19 - 0

* * *

The room grew quiet as Nathen smirked, "Your move."

"What is he planning?! Either he's about to throw this dual or he's got something planned!" Janice started to quiver, then quickly pulled herself together, "No! I won't lose! I work hard and I study at least ten times more than this Slifer Red slacker! I've played out a thousand scenarios with this deck and I'm not about to lose in front of the whole school! He got rid of his entire deck, and he's going to lose because of it! I just need to survive one turn!"

"I end my turn!" Janice declared.

* * *

LP: JANICE: 2200 - NATHEN: 0500

CARDS IN HAND: 3 - 4

CARDS IN DECK: 19 - 0

* * *

"My move!" Nathen declared, "I'll play the spell Celestial Transformation, which means I can special summon a fairy monster from my hand, so long as I cut it's attack points in half! So come on out, Shire, Lightsworn Spirit(400/1400)!"

"Okay, a 200 hundred attack point monster is nothing special."

"Now, due to Shire's ability, she gains 300 attack points for each Lightsworn monster with a different name in my graveyard, and I have 6!"

"Alright, 2000 attack points is a lot, but nothing I can't handle!"

"Now, I'll sacrifice Shire to summon out Gragonith, Lightsworn Dragon(2000/1600)!"

"This is worrisome…"

"And just like Shire, Gragonlith gains 300 attack points for each Lightsworn monster with a different name in my graveyard, and including Shire, there's now 7!"

"4100 attack points?! This is bad!"

"Now go, Gragonith, attack Gemini Soldier!"

"I activate the trap card Cover Fire! So now, Gemini Soldier gains attack points equal to a monster I control, and I choose Dark Valkyrie! So now, Gemini Soldier's attack points rise to 2300!" Janice gritted her teeth, "This will let me last until next turn, and if I do, I win!"

"Don't do it." Derek prayed, "Please, for the love of all that is good, spare her the years of humiliation and self-doubt. If you have Honest in your hand, please don't play it."

The world was moving in slow-motion for Nathen. He could see Gragonith moving towards the killing blow, Honest sitting in his hand, knowing full well that he'd saved it for just the right moment. But beyond that, he saw Janice. He saw her legs shaking, the color running from her face, and a tear starting to pool in the corner of her eye. Part of him remembered all the times he'd overheard her talking about her perfect record, how her essay would help her get into dualing college and how the scholarship meant she wouldn't go into debt paying off loans. Gragonith's voice reached his mind, "Is defeating her what you want to do?"

He'd earned the victory.

But seeing what that victory would bring, Nathen knew what he wanted.

He let the card sit in his hand.

* * *

LP: JANICE: 0400 - NATHEN: 0500

CARDS IN HAND: 3 - 1

CARDS IN DECK: 19 - 0

* * *

When the smoke cleared, Nathen emerged once more with a smile on his face, "Saving a card from the very start of the dual to win? What an elegant strategy, I'll have to find a way to incorporate it into our next match. It's your turn."

Janice took a breath as the horror passed and control came back to her once more. College was still an option. Her dualing scholarship was intact. She could still achieve her dream of becoming a doctor. Her world wasn't going to come crashing down. Everything was going to be alright, "My move!"

* * *

LP: JANICE: 0400 - NATHEN: 0500

CARDS IN HAND: 4 - 1

CARDS IN DECK: 18 - 0

* * *

"I end my turn." Janice said with relief, "And as you all can see, through his reckless disregard for his remaining cards, my opponent has forced himself into a loss by inability to draw cards!"

* * *

LP: JANICE: 0400 - NATHEN: 0500

CARDS IN HAND: 4 - 1

CARDS IN DECK: 18 - 0

RESULT: WIN - LOSS

* * *

"Dang, if he had Honest, he would have won!" Chione pouted as she took a seat, "I was really rooting for him, too!"

"Slifers stick together, right?" Derek recited.

"Always!"

Derek smiled as he remembered how distraught he'd felt when he was certain that his bubbly teammate had robbed him of his future. In the end, their teamwork allowed all three of them to earn the money they needed in tournaments, but man alive, was he upset when Chione had first hit him with that Honest. Derek smirked as he looked at the boy who had borrowed his cards, "Putting others before himself, even at the cost of a great victory. I can see why you trusted him, Koto."

Nathen shrugged and put his deck together as he walked across the stage, "You're an incredible dualist, Janice."

"Thank you." Janice replied with a smile, "For the compliment and for demonstrating the point of my essay."

"Maybe you could tutor me sometime? I'm not the best with conditional probability and I could use a hand…"

Koto smirked as he closed his cell phone, "Hey, Derek, we still have a spot left for an alternate?"

"… What are you thinking?" Derek squinted.

"I just got our other Lightsworn cards shipped to New Domino city and finished talking with the work program office here at this dual academy, and they agree a pro circuit dualing tournament is grounds for an after school internship."

"Slifer red all the way!" Chione shouted.

"A little bit of prize money and a pro tournament participation goes a long way towards a degree."

Derek smirked, "That's assuming we win."

"For a Slifer red high-schooler, just being in a pro tournament at all looks good on the resume."

"Nathen!" Nathen's friends shouted as the ran up to hug him, "You're alive!"

Nathen patted the shorter one's head, "Calm down, Mick!"

"We were sure you were gonna get stomped, but you almost won!" The taller one shouted.

"Thank you, Lenny, your confidence in me is overwhelming."

"That was an exceptional dual." Derek commented as he walked out onto the floor.

"Oh, right, your cards." Nathen reached for his deck.

"Keep them." Derek insisted, "In fact, I'd like to give you a few more cards, that is, if you're interested in an… internship."

"Internship?"

* * *

"Dang, you're good, Chione!" Nathen admitted.

"Thanks, you're not bad, yourself!" Chione retorted as his life points dropped to 0 for the second time, "But it'll take more than that to make it in the pro leagues!"

"I still can't believe I'm you're alternate!"

"Looks like our new recruit is getting into the spirit of things." Derek observed, "Now will you tell me why you've been acting so strangely?"

Koto sighed and pulled out his Maiden card, "Where have you seen this woman before?"

Derek frowned, then raised an eyebrow, "Why did you make a fake dual card with your mother's picture on it?"

"Okay, hear me out first, and know that I'm being 100% serious when I say all of this, because I'm a little worried that I might be going crazy."

"You can tell me anything."

Koto explained the ordeal in detail, from the dream to the card to the visions that had led him to Nathen. Derek didn't ask any questions, make any comments, or change his expression until Koto had finished the entire story. Koto scratched the back of his head, "… Am I crazy?"

"… Maybe." Derek handed the Maiden card back to Koto, "But the last time we got a checkup, you didn't have anything that would even remotely begin to suggest that you would be hallucinating anything close to this. That doesn't mean I don't believe you, I do. But I think that from now until the tournament starts, we should all be eating the same food, that way we can eliminate toxins as a cause. The fact that you were worried tells me that you're in your right frame of mind and I don't have to worry about you doing anything dramatic. I don't believe in spirits, but I do believe in helping my friend. Keep me in the loop and I'll support you, okay?"

Koto felt a weight come off his shoulders as Derek talked sense into him, "Thanks, Derek."

"Best of seven!" Nathen shouted as his life points hit 0 for the third time.

"Bring it on!" Chione shouted back, "If you win 4 in a row, then you'll have earned the right to say you beat the princess of games!"

* * *

By the time they got back to the hotel, Koto was certain that he'd be too tired to stay awake, but his nerves proved too stubborn. Even knowing that Derek had his back, the fact he was still seeing and hearing things that shouldn't be there, but were. Then his phone started ringing, "Hello?"

"I heard you recruited a high school student as your alternate dualist."

Koto sighed, he was too tired to be angry, even at his father, "What do you want, dad?"

"I want to talk to you."

"You're not usually one for chats."

"I think I can make an exception for my only son every once in a while."

"… Okay, then, let's talk. What do you want to talk about?"

"… I wanted to apologize."

"Dad, I don't blame you for what happened to mom-"

"That's not what I'm talking about. I wouldn't be surprised or blame you if you did, but I'm not apologizing for that right now. I'm apologizing for not being there for you. Moki… I can't thank Moki enough for everything he's done, but that's no excuse for me burying myself in work instead of looking out for you."

"…"

"… I was just so… angry. I hated myself for being weak, I hated the world for taking her away from me, and I hated all of dual monsters for leaving me powerless to save her. I needed to feel in control… because I couldn't live with the idea that I couldn't do anything to protect what I cared about most."

"… Is that why you didn't have the teachers at the dual academy send me home?"

"I won't lie, I thought about it. My first reaction was to put you on the first jet home and scold you for running away like that. But I couldn't bring myself to do it."

"Why not?"

The man let out a chuckle, "Your mother designed your room at the academy herself. By the time I would have called, they would have showed you to the room. You'd just lost her… I couldn't take that away from you."

"Dad… did mom like dual monsters?"

Another chuckle, "No, she loved it. I met her a tournament, she was cheering for my opponent, so I signed one of her cards out of spite. Two weeks later, she showed up at my office demanding I replace the card."

"Did you give her a new card?"

"I gave her three newly-printed copies, all signed, and I told her to sell them if she wanted to buy a new card."

"Dad, you're such an asshole."

"Hey, it made her laugh and got me my first date with her."

"… Do you miss her?"

"Every day."

"… Me, too."

"… I'm going to watch the tournament."

"On TV?"

"In person."

"… That's… different."

"I can watch it on TV if me being there makes you uncomfortable."

"No, no! You can be there! I just… the last time you watched me dual, it was against mom."

"You remember that?"

"I was learning how to dual from the best, how could I forget?"

"For starters, you were six years old and could barely read."

"I almost won that dual!"

"You did have an excellent coach."

"…How was your day, dad?"

"What?"

"How was your day? I know you'd work through deathly illness, so I wanted to see how you were doing."

"I'm fine."

"Fine is not sate of being unless you're salt."

"You sound just like your mother."

"…"

"…"

"So… how are you?"

"I'm tired, but I can't remember the last time I wasn't tired."

"You could let Moki help you take that weekend vacation you always talked about."

"I suppose… maybe I should take a day off."

"Let me know when you do, we could go somewhere."

"Any place in particular? Hawaii? Jamaica? Australia?"

"Actually, there's a card shop in New Domino city that I hear has really rare cards."

"…Really? They got anything worth a small fortune?"

"I heard they had one of the rarest cards in the world. Apparently, there are only four of them in the whole world, and the owner has one."

"I heard that some asshole came in and ripped that card in half."

Koto smirked, "That guy sounds like a real jerk."

"The absolute worst. I mean, what kind of ego-maniac rips up a four-of-a-kind card in front its owner?"

"…I love you, dad."

"… I love you too, Koto."

"I promise I'll be extra careful in my turbo duals."

"… Would it be alright if I sent out a pit crew to inspect your runners?"

"Of course."

"Thank you. I'm sorry I'm so overprotective."

"I don't blame you for that, either."

"…"

"…"

"Goodnight, Koto."

"Goodnight, dad."

Koto put his phone away and laid out on the bed. Then he closed eyes and let sleep take his consciousness away.

* * *

Derek, prudent as he was, had expected his minor checkup on his dual runner to take all of ten minutes.

His planned trip was stopped short as he heard someone breathing in a nearby ally, "Can I help you?"

"Good evening." A man in a white suit apologized as he stepped out of the shadows. He was well groomed with short black hair and clear brown eyes, "You're the head of team New Millennium's business matters, are you not?"

Derek glanced back, ran the odds that this man had a chance of overwhelming him in a fight, and proceeded to open the door, "We have a business phone number and email for a reason. Leave a message at it and we'll get back to you within a five business days after the tournament is over."

"I'd think I can offer you a sponsorship worth considering."

Derek started tinkering with his black dual runner, "Not interested. We're good on money at the moment, thanks."

"What about cards? I hear those are useful."

"_Great, now I need to deal with this joker before he starts offering Chione cards._" Derek used a wheeled pad to roll under his runner, "How generous of you. I'll bet you're the kind of guy who buys guitars for rock stars and swim suits for models, too. Whatever, what kind of cards are you trying to bribe me with?"

"I wouldn't insult you with common or even rare fodder. I have here for you, a full set of arguably the rarest card in the entire world. It might be a normal monster, but with all the support card for them, they can be neigh unstoppable in the right hands. Naturally, I've acquired some of those cards, but from what I understand, your group possesses a good deal of those support cards already." The man produced a suitcase and opened it in Derek's direction, "Perhaps you've heard of them?"

Derek looked out of the corner of his eye before banging his forehead on the dual runner's undercarriage, "_Are you freaking kidding me?!_"

"I take it I chose wisely?"

Derek rolled out from underneath his dual runner, "You won't be allowed to use our legal likeness in any commercials, movies, television, or magazines. We don't do any photo shoots unless we're fully clothed in attire of our choice, all events you want us to attend are to be agreed upon ahead of time, we don't schedule over dualing charity events, you're not allowed to publicize our personal information, and we reserve the right to all our royalties."

"I think I can abide by that arrangement. Shall we discuss contracts?"

END OF PART 2

* * *

Next chapter should be out by next Tuesday!


End file.
